“…”

Awkward.

Jian Chou also knew that cultivating a soul pearl was truly walking an unprecedented path, taking risks to the extreme. She might well be the only ghost cultivator in the entire Extreme Domain who had condensed a soul pearl before even crossing the Soul Nourishing Realm.

And indeed, this was the case.

The shopkeeper was completely stunned.

Through this woman’s “body” before him, the shopkeeper could clearly sense her extremely chaotic, extremely inferior aura belonging to the Soul Pearl Realm.

In his over two hundred years of cultivation in the Extreme Domain, he had never felt such…

Terrible aura!

If a master was like a well-dressed beauty, then this seemingly dignified female ghost cultivator before him was simply like a ragged beggar crawling on the ground!

The difference between them was like heaven and earth.

How could there be such a weak soul pearl in the Extreme Domain?

That tiny speck of light, floating at the position of the female cultivator’s spiritual platform like a mote of dust—if not for that faintly flickering spiritual light that seemed ready to extinguish at any moment, he would have thought the threshold sensing had malfunctioned—

This could actually count as having a soul pearl?

Are you kidding me?!

The shopkeeper immediately developed an interest in chatting with Jian Chou, hastily pulling his head out of the treasure cabinet: “This young lady… Ouch!”

“Thud!”

A loud muffled sound.

The shopkeeper’s not-so-small head actually got stuck in the treasure cabinet frame as he tried to pull it out, causing him to grimace in pain.

“Damn it…”

The shopkeeper muttered, continuing to pull his head out, but still couldn’t get it free!

He was dumbfounded.

Jian Chou was also completely amazed: she’d seen all kinds of things getting stuck, but had never seen a ghost get their head stuck!

She almost couldn’t hold back her laughter. Seeing the shopkeeper struggling there, she couldn’t just stand by and watch, so she simply walked over, grabbed the short shopkeeper’s back collar, and helped pull him out.

“Ah, finally got out.”

The shopkeeper was set down by Jian Chou, standing steady on the ground, only reaching Jian Chou’s waist in height.

He felt his head: “How do I feel like being stuck for so long made it a bit square?”

It was indeed a bit square.

“Cough, it’s fine, it’ll be better in a moment.”

Jian Chou looked at the few angular corners on the shopkeeper’s head, coughed once, but couldn’t hide the laughter in her voice.

“What are you laughing at! Haven’t you seen a ghost get their head stuck before?!”

The shopkeeper heard her laughter and immediately turned red all over, whether from embarrassment or anger.

He turned to glare at her, but unexpectedly, this turn brought him directly face-to-face with Jian Chou’s—

Waist.

Light blue garments, delicate embroidery.

Every cloud and thunder pattern was perfectly visible, as if drawn with the finest brush.

My King of Hell!

The short shopkeeper instantly understood: after all this fuss, this young lady wasn’t a big fat pig, ah no, she was a big benefactor!

Having worked under his master for so many years, he still had an eye for things. How could the short shopkeeper not recognize that this was clothing made from the silk of some precious spider?

No other advantages, just two words: expensive as hell!

Unable to resist swallowing his saliva, the short shopkeeper immediately swallowed back his dissatisfied expression and the words about to come out of his mouth.

A ghost cultivator who could condense such a small soul pearl was definitely the type with talent so poor it reached the extreme, who might not even be able to cross the Soul Nourishing Realm. But this female cultivator before him actually had a soul pearl—what did this prove?

Very simple, she’d been taking pills!

Among the Ten Great Ghost Clans or the Eight Directions Hell Palace, there were always those few with connections who would have their entire clan’s power poured into cultivating them. Even the stupidest goods, if you threw ten or eight boxes of pills into their stomach, cultivating a soul pearl was still possible.

Thinking again about the clothing this female cultivator wore, tsk tsk, it was flashy but impractical—wasn’t this the typical “second-generation ancestor”?

Of course, the shopkeeper had never really seen one “typical” to this degree.

It could be said that the Jian Chou before him was not only an oddity, but also a miracle!

“Cough, well…”

The shopkeeper took two steps back, looked around, straightened his somewhat square head, coughed once, trying to resolve the momentary awkwardness.

“This shop’s treasure cabinet has always been rather temperamental. Getting heads stuck is a common occurrence. Thank you, young lady, for lending a hand. As for your soul pearl, it was this person being narrow-minded and making you laugh, making you laugh.”

How did he start apologizing?

A complete 180-degree attitude change in the blink of an eye?

Jian Chou was truly startled, not even understanding how the other party suddenly became like this.

However, even without understanding, Jian Chou could still maintain her composure.

Pretending she hadn’t noticed anything, pretending the shopkeeper’s behavior was normal, pretending she was used to it, Jian Chou smiled slightly, very magnanimously: “It’s fine, it’s fine. I’m used to it.”

Oh, used to it?

This simple sentence, heard by the shopkeeper, took on a different meaning.

Remaining calm in the face of change, and being able to casually say “I’m used to it”—this was truly the perspective that only great families and great powers could cultivate.

But which great family or great power would raise such a waste?

Recently, he hadn’t heard of any second-generation ancestor coming to Wangsi City…

Sigh.

The short shopkeeper began to harbor doubts, wondering if perhaps some great cultivator was deliberately pretending to have poor talent to fool ordinary cultivators.

In any case, the more calm Jian Chou was, the more he dared not neglect her.

“Young lady, coming to this shop, are you looking to buy something or sell something?”

“…Both, I suppose. I want to look around first.”

Jian Chou had never seen what pills and magical artifacts from the Extreme Domain looked like. This “Pin” Character Tower before her was the most complete shop she’d ever seen, so she could see everything at once.

The shopkeeper, upon hearing this, had an idea: “Please feel free to look around. You can examine everything on this first floor. All the magical artifacts’ grades can basically satisfy the needs of cultivators at Golden Body Realm and below. Look, over here are the pills.”

Before them, the treasure cabinet was filled with jade bottles, just as Jian Chou had seen from outside earlier.

However, all the bottles on the treasure cabinets were sealed, with a jade slip placed in front of each.

Jian Chou was curious: “Can these also be examined?”

“Yes.”

The shopkeeper was confident—in the entire Underworld, you couldn’t find many people bold enough to steal things in Shanhai Market.

Jian Chou then picked up the first jade bottle on the right, opened it, and immediately a faint pill fragrance wafted out…

However, this feeling was probably like how the short shopkeeper felt when he sensed her soul pearl’s aura.

Chaotic, inferior.

She frowned, not even glancing at the pill before putting it down and picking up the jade slip. The moment her finger touched the jade slip, information flooded in.

Ordinary Soul Calming Pill, can help cultivators calm their minds for cultivation. One pill costs five Profound Jade.

Profound Jade in the Extreme Domain was equivalent to Spirit Stones in the Nineteen Continents.

One pill of such poor quality for five Profound Jade?

Jian Chou instantly didn’t know what to say, only silently putting down the jade slip and looking at the jade bottles further back.

The short shopkeeper, following close beside her, observed her entire behavior but said nothing.

Jian Chou opened five jade bottles in succession. The pill prices rose from five Profound Jade to fifty Profound Jade, but…

The current pill was called “Phantom Spirit Pill,” described in the jade slip as a pill that could enhance some soul power for Soul Pearl Realm cultivators after consumption.

But its quality was only slightly better than the worst of the three types of pills she had given to Big Head Ghost and Little Head Ghost—the Heart-Containing Pill.

“Young lady, what kind of pills do you need? Why don’t you tell me, and I’ll help you choose?”

Seeing Jian Chou pick up one bottle after another only to put them down, the short shopkeeper’s heart also went up and down with her actions, feeling extremely uneasy.

“Oh, no need.” Jian Chou shook her head in refusal. Although she found it strange, she still spoke honestly: “These pills all seem rather ordinary… Are there any better ones?”

“…”

The short shopkeeper had the urge to slap her to death!

“This… our shop’s pills are already quite famous throughout the entire Extreme Domain. The Phantom Spirit Pill you’re holding was refined by a Fifth-Grade Pill Master in our Pin Character Tower, with absolutely superior quality.”

A Fifth-Grade Pill Master refined such a thing?

Jian Chou thought of Lu Xiangleng.

Pill refining, artifact forging, and array formations had always been time-consuming endeavors, so relatively speaking, pill masters, artifact refiners, and array formation grandmasters made up an extremely small proportion among cultivators, and those above fifth grade were extremely rare.

However, Lu Xiangleng, the medicine woman from Baiyue Valley, was one of them.

She had reached the realm of Fifth-Grade Pill Master in just a few decades. Although she wasn’t at the top of the fifth grade, her talent was undeniable.

During the Left Three Thousand Small Gathering, Jian Chou had obtained a “Tianshan Snow Pill,” whose quality could be described as “surpassing frost and snow,” making one feel refreshed upon smelling it.

Shouldn’t that be the standard of a Fifth-Grade Pill Master?

But thinking about it, how long had the Extreme Domain existed since its birth?

Whether pill refining, artifact forging, or array formations, all required very long periods of accumulation.

The Extreme Domain’s history was barely six hundred years. Even if there had been development before, it absolutely wouldn’t exceed the Nineteen Continents, so in terms of foundation, the Nineteen Continents naturally surpassed the Extreme Domain by countless levels.

In other words, the short shopkeeper wasn’t lying.

Because Fifth-Grade Pill Masters in the Extreme Domain could indeed only reach this level.

Almost in a chain of thoughts, Jian Chou understood everything.

She suddenly smiled, feeling somewhat nostalgic for those friends from the Nineteen Continents.

With a flick of her finger, Jian Chou put the light red Phantom Spirit Pill back into its box, no longer interested in the pills.

“Shopkeeper, do you have magical artifacts?”

“…Yes.”

Thinking Jian Chou would say something about his words, he didn’t expect her to directly abandon the pills and ask about magical artifacts!

If not for seeing her wearing an extremely expensive robe, the short shopkeeper would have swept her out the door long ago.

Sullenly leading the way, passing through row after row of treasure cabinets filled with pills, the short shopkeeper led her to the high wall on the right side, where hundreds of magical artifacts hung from left to right!

This time, there was indeed a wide variety, a dazzling array.

Knives, spears, swords, halberds, axes, battle-axes, hooks, forks…

But they were also different from those in the Nineteen Continents. The materials of the magical artifacts were subtly different, with colors generally darker, seeming like stone but not stone, seeming like jade but not jade, and definitely not like iron.

For some reason, looking at the materials of these magical artifacts, Jian Chou felt a familiar sensation.

She stood in front of a long blade, casually picked it up, weighed it, and immediately knew that her thoughts were absolutely correct: this blade priced at two hundred Profound Jade was really quite inferior.

The short shopkeeper immediately wanted to introduce it: “This blade, though not of high grade, is—”

“Clang.”

Before he could finish speaking, Jian Chou had already put the blade down with indifference.

I…

I you &*… &%… ￥%%…

The short shopkeeper couldn’t catch his breath and nearly passed out!

Do you still want people to do business or not!

He glared at Jian Chou, almost feeling like he’d encountered an ancestor.

Second-generation ancestor!

Definitely a second-generation ancestor!

Looking like she looked down on all these things!

Hmph.

Compared to pills, this wall actually had good stuff.

He didn’t believe she could continue ignoring everything like this!

The short shopkeeper held his breath and continued watching.

This time Jian Chou picked up a sword, one of even higher grade. The short shopkeeper thought this sword was one that even his master had praised for its decent forging, so it shouldn’t be bad.

Unexpectedly, Jian Chou frowned and put it down as well.

After that, she picked up magical artifacts faster and faster, and put them down faster and faster.

As if…

As if looking at these magical artifacts suddenly reminded her of something.

Until she walked to the far right of this wall, standing in front of a mysterious black long sword.

The entirely black blade looked unremarkable.

But looking carefully, one could sense those pores inside the blade’s fine texture, like a honeycomb…

This familiar structure.

Jian Chou touched the long sword with her hand, and couldn’t help but become dazed.

Memory instantly flowed back to the time in Black Wind Cave…

The intense black wind…

The slanted downward tunnel…

Countless remnants of magical artifacts inserted in the cave walls…

And those countless pores blown out by the black wind on the cave walls!

From the familiar feeling when she first picked up a magical artifact, to suddenly realizing where this familiarity came from when she picked up the second…

Each subsequent examination was just her confirming her conjecture.

Until she picked up this last black sword, she finally dared to be certain: the materials used to forge these magical artifacts, though of varying quality, were all the same type—stones from Black Wind Cave—

Wind-Swallowing Stone!

Or rather…

Stones identical to Wind-Swallowing Stone.

Countless doubts suddenly surged up in her mind.

The quality of Wind-Swallowing Stone used to forge this sword shouldn’t be of the best type, because Jian Chou had memories: when she entered Black Wind Cave, Xiao Diao, that scrap-collecting enthusiast, had frantically searched the cave, not only picking up a pile of broken copper and iron, but also bringing back quite a few Wind-Swallowing Stones.

Those Wind-Swallowing Stones were all from the depths of Black Wind Cave, having endured years of black wind carving, with all impurities already disappearing under the long-term scraping, so their quality was extremely high, definitely surpassing the black sword in her hand.

So…

Had Xiao Diao’s scraps finally become supreme treasures?

That mountain-high pile of things…

Looking at this Pin Character Tower’s prices, this would be mountains of gold and silver!

This unreliable thought flashed through Jian Chou’s mind. After thinking for a while, she soon became lost in thought looking at this black sword again.

“Young lady? Young lady? Are you going to buy this sword?”

The short shopkeeper’s voice.

Jian Chou felt this voice seemed to come from beyond the heavens. She turned to look at the short shopkeeper for a long while before coming back to her senses, remembering she wasn’t currently in Black Wind Cave, nor collecting Wind-Swallowing Stones, nor practicing the “Human Artifact” technique.

She was buying things in this Pin Character Tower.

The black sword in her hand was definitely not heavy enough.

Even in terms of quality, it was far inferior to the Ghost Axe Remnant. Having grown accustomed to the heavy Ghost Axe, she felt this sword was as light as a feather in her hand.

But this sword was different from other swords…

When she held it in her hand, there was a natural sense of connection.

She thought of the long-unused “Riding Wind”…

Without acupoints, only in her current soul state…

Could she still use it?

In that instant, this question overcame other questions, making Jian Chou involuntarily try…

Human souls, relative to the body, had acupoints existing symbolically around the body.

Jian Chou tried to stimulate them, making them open toward the surroundings, and thus, the familiar feeling appeared…

Transforming into one strand among the countless winds of this world, merging into them, following her heart’s desire, roaming freely through heaven and earth!

Even the sword in her hand became a strand of wind!

The short shopkeeper standing beside Jian Chou almost opened his eyes in terror.

This young lady of unknown origin was clearly standing right in front of him, yet he seemed unable to see her or capture her existence.

Ethereal and mysterious, profound beyond words!

What kind of joke was this?

He was already a great cultivator at the middle stage of Golden Body Realm!

How could he possibly feel that a Soul Pearl Realm ghost cultivator was “profound beyond words”?

That unreliable conjecture from before surfaced again—

Could this female cultivator really be a great cultivator in disguise for amusement?

With a shivering chill, the short shopkeeper almost didn’t dare say a word.

Fortunately, Jian Chou didn’t become lost in thought again.

After easily merging into the wind, she gradually severed her mental connection. Although she still held the simple three-foot-two black sword in her palm, that feeling of merging with heaven and earth and the gentle wind had already completely disappeared.

In the short shopkeeper’s eyes, Jian Chou standing by the wall became real again.

With a turn of her wrist, the black sword traced a clean arc, yet carried not the slightest sound of wind, giving quite an eerie feeling.

“Shopkeeper, this sword doesn’t seem to have a price tag. I wonder…”

“How dare you touch that sword!”

Before Jian Chou could finish asking about the price, a contemptuous voice came from the doorway, instantly interrupting her.

Hearing this voice, Jian Chou’s delicate eyebrows involuntarily furrowed.

The corners of her eyes and brows were tinged with several degrees of sharp coldness.

Qualifications?

This person who interrupted was being rather impolite.

Holding the black sword, Jian Chou turned to look.

Probably because everyone from Wangsi City had come up, the streets outside seemed very lively, and this Pin Character Tower had also gained several more customers, who now all looked over upon hearing the voice.

The speaker was a young man in white robes standing at the doorway.

The moment she saw this person, Jian Chou naturally thought of “White Impermanence.”

The flowing white clothes on the young man not only lacked any elegant feeling, but instead carried a natural aura of hostility and ghostly qi.

His complexion was somewhat too pale, seemingly due to the characteristics of the Wuchang Yizu’s cultivation method.

Only his lips were as red as if painted with fresh blood.

This was none other than Xing Wu, a member of the Wuchang Yizu working at the Reception Bureau.

Though not born in Wangsi City, Xing Wu lived in Wangsi City and was now one of the members of the rather large Wuchang Yizu among the Ten Great Ghost Clans, naturally maintaining a lofty attitude.

Many people knew him, and seeing him, they couldn’t help but begin to pity the female cultivator standing by the wall.

No one thought Jian Chou had any cultivation or background. In their view, Jian Chou was the most insignificant type of ghost cultivator—how could she match up against Xing Wu?

Poor thing.

The short shopkeeper was also quite surprised, glancing at Jian Chou, then at Xing Wu, cursing inwardly.

Shanhai Market drifted throughout the entire Underworld, hosting all kinds of people. But what the short shopkeeper feared most was exactly this kind of situation.

One was a female cultivator of unknown identity, but whom he always felt was extraordinary;

The other was Xing Wu, born of the Wuchang Yizu and hopeful of participating in the Cauldron Competition.

Wasn’t this causing trouble?

Though he wasn’t afraid of Xing Wu at all, the short shopkeeper was afraid of Jian Chou.

He hesitated for a moment, seeing Xing Wu walking over, and hurriedly tried to mediate: “Young Master Xing, it’s been several months since we’ve seen you. Your honored presence graces us, and we’ve been remiss in welcoming you. However, this sword…”

“I’ll pay three thousand Profound Jade.”

Xing Wu had recently broken through from the third layer of Pearl Transformation to the fourth layer of Jade Nirvana with the help of several elders in his clan, and now he just needed a most suitable magical artifact.

The last time Shanhai Market opened, he had taken a liking to this black sword.

But at that time, first his purse was light, and second his cultivation was insufficient—taking this black sword would have been useless.

But now it was different.

Xing Wu had gained recognition from his clan, and his realm had improved. He had both money and need.

Days ago, he had been waiting for Shanhai Market to open so he could buy this sword, but he never expected that upon entering, he would see a female cultivator holding the black sword he wanted!

Most importantly…

If he wasn’t mistaken, this female cultivator seemed to…

Have a soul pearl?

But this soul pearl…

Was really nothing to praise.

It could be said this was the weakest soul pearl Xing Wu had ever seen, or rather, this was originally the weakest soul pearl in the entire history of the Extreme Domain!

He suspected he could blow her soul pearl away with a single breath.

Therefore, Xing Wu had no scruples, not even considering this female cultivator worth attention. After questioning her qualifications, he directly threw out a price that the Pin Character Tower absolutely couldn’t refuse!

Three thousand Profound Jade!

Not to mention the ghost cultivators quietly watching the show, even the short shopkeeper was shocked: this black sword could sell for two thousand five hundred, which was already good, but Xing Wu actually offered three thousand in one go!

Pin Character Tower was a business after all, and the short shopkeeper was in trade after all.

With profit to be made, who could refuse?

However…

He slowly turned his gaze to Jian Chou, quietly observing this one, tentatively speaking: “Young lady, what do you think…”

“Such a weak Soul Pearl Realm is truly unprecedented!”

Not expecting the short shopkeeper to turn back and ask Jian Chou, Xing Wu couldn’t help but sneer, directly saying to Jian Chou: “Don’t be ungrateful. This young master will participate in the Cauldron Competition in four months, and I’m determined to have this sword. I advise you not to seek death!”

Jian Chou held the black sword, slightly raising an eyebrow, finding it amusing in her heart, and was about to respond with a couple of remarks.

Unexpectedly, from an angle, a sudden laugh came.

“Tsk, the Wuchang Yizu really has no one left, to actually let such a waste come out to throw their weight around!”

Whoa!

Who is it!

Who is this!

This person speaks way too impolitely!

Throughout the entire Pin Character Tower, there were already quite a few people watching the excitement, and even the mysterious second floor had a few heads poking out.

As this voice arose, this arrogance—Jian Chou did have some impression of this term.

However, her impression of this Xing Wu before her was extremely poor.